Barnes Earns No. 1 seed at 2021 USBC Senior Masters
Las Vegas, Nevada – Chris Barnes dethroned Tom Hess as the No. 1 seed at the 2021 USBC Senior Masters on Saturday and now Barnes will have the chance to earn more than just another major career title.
Sunday’s stepladder finals could decide who will be named PBA50 Player of the Year and PBA50 Rookie of the Year. As the top seed, Barnes would have to lose twice. Those looking to beat him are No. 2 seed Doug Kent, No. 3 Pete Weber, No. 4 Tom Hess and No. 5 seed Donnie Hogue.
Barnes started off by winning his first three-game elimination match, 622-617, over fellow Texan Dino Castillo. Barnes threw urethane on one lane and a reactive ball on the other to battle the conditions. Castillo had some costly opens and Barnes was able to sneak by.
Next up for Barnes was a draw against Hess. Barnes knocked off Hess, 731-647, forcing Hess to work his way back through the elimination bracket. Barnes went on to defeat Hogue and Kent to go undefeated on the day.
After the loss to Barnes, Hess squeaked by Tim Mack, 626-622 then Hess and Dan Knowlton tied at 679 in their three-game match. Hess then advanced after four one-ball roll-offs, 40-39. That win advanced Hess into one final battle to get into the stepladder. Weber, Hess, Hogue and David Leverage bowled three-games fighting for the final three spots.
Weber led the way with 727. Hess was in last after game one, but a ball change got him back in the mix with 245 and 228 for 667. He needed to double and get six to advance and he struck out on the left lane that had given him trouble. It then came down to Leverage needing a mark to earn the No. 5 seed. He left the difficult 3-6-10 and only got the 3-pin to lose to Hogue, 650-644.
It required a lot of bowling and perseverance for these five players to make it to the finals. Hogue finished 15-games of qualifying in 52nd place, but battled his way to the final frame of the day on Saturday to just make it in.
Kent’s path to the second seed featured wins over David Cirigliano, Chris Warren and Leverage. He then lost his only match to Barnes, 656-639, which determined the stepladder seeding.
Weber’s route to get to the top five began Saturday with a huge comeback win over Lennie Boresch. Weber was down 71-pins and roared him way back to win, 672-659. He dominated his matches against Castillo and Eric Adolphson then defeated Warren and Norm Duke.
Weber is currently leading the way in the PBA50 Player of the Year competition with back-to-back wins earlier in the season, while Hess and Barnes each earned their first PBA50 titles. The winner will earn $20,000.
The stepladder finals will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern live on BowlTV.com.
Follow scoring at the 2021 USBC Senior Masters at BOWL.com | 2021 Results
2021 USBC Senior Masters Stepladder Finals Seeding:
- Chris Barnes
- Doug Kent
- Pete Weber
- Tom Hess
- Donnie Hogue